Exchange Programs
Harvard Law School has exchange agreements with this select group of nine foreign schools. These are institutions with which HLS has collaborated previously on faculty research, student exchanges, and other programming. These existing relationships and institutional familiarity can be helpful to HLS students contemplating study abroad. Each of these law schools reserves a designated number of places for HLS students to spend a semester abroad, subject to acceptance by the foreign school.
- Sydney Law School (Sydney, Australia)
- Fundação Getulio Vargas Schools of Law (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil)
- University of Chile School of Law (Santiago, Chile)
- Renmin Law School (Beijing, China)
- Sciences Po Law School (Paris, France)
- University of Tokyo, Graduate Schools for Law and Politics (Tokyo, Japan)
- Seoul National University School of Law (Seoul, Korea)
- University of Geneva Faculty of Law and Geneva Graduate Institute (Geneva, Switzerland)
Admission to these schools under these exchange agreements begins with the HLS semester abroad application process. As such, each student will need to gain approval from both the HLS Study Abroad Committee and the host institution.
HLS also has a joint degree program with the University of Cambridge that involves spending a year in the United Kingdom reading for an LL.M. degree.
Independent Semester Abroad
The semester abroad program does not limit students’ options to a specific school or country. According to the American Bar Association criteria, “the foreign institution will generally be one that is government sanctioned or recognized, if educational institutions are state regulated within the country; recognized or approved by an evaluation body, if such an agency exists within the country; or chartered to award degrees in law by the appropriate authority within the country” (ABA Criteria Section I.C.1.). In addition, the school should be one that is generally viewed as offering one of the top law programs in its country or geographic region. HLS students may not enroll in programs of U.S. schools given abroad, or in programs designed expressly for American students or for students from countries other than that in which the school is located.
HLS students have studied abroad for a semester at:
- University of Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- University of Melbourne (Melbourne, Australia)
- University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia)
- University of the West Indies (Bridgetown, Barbados)
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (Brussels, Belgium)
- University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada)
- University of Victoria (Victoria, Canada)
- Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile (Santiago, Chile)
- Peking University (Beijing, China)
- Tsinghua University (Beijing, China)
- Jiao Tong University (Shanghai, China)
- University of Los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia)
- Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (Halle, Germany)
- University of Ghana (Accra, Ghana)
- University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
- Hebrew University (Jerusalem, Israel)
- Tel Aviv University (Tel Aviv, Israel)
- Università degli Studi di Firenze (Florence, Italy)
- Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali (Rome, Italy)
- Keio University (Tokyo, Japan)
- Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico City, Mexico)
- Leiden University (Leiden, The Netherlands)
- Vrije University (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
- Pontifica Universidad Católica de Peru (Lima, Peru)
- National University of Singapore (Singapore)
- University of Cape Town (Cape Town, South Africa)
- ESADE Law School – University Ramon Llull (Barcelona, Spain)
- Instituto de Empresa (Madrid, Spain)
- Universidad Pontifica Comillas (Madrid, Spain)
- University of Zurich (Zurich, Switzerland)
- Queen Mary, University of London (London, United Kingdom)
- School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (London, United Kingdom)
Students considering an independent semester abroad should also review the requirements listed on the Semester Abroad: Planning and Application page.
Resources
In order to identify an appropriate school for a semester abroad, students are encouraged to read HLS students’ evaluations of past semesters abroad (Harvard ID required). Also, many HLS faculty members, LL.M. students and S.J.D. students have lived, worked and studied abroad, have contacts at foreign law schools, and are willing to make suggestions to J.D. students contemplating study abroad.
Students who are considering how a semester abroad might fit in with a job search can contact either an OCS Adviser or OPIA Adviser. Advisors from OCS and OPIA are also able to counsel students by phone, email or Skype during their semester abroad.
The Foreign Law School Experience
HLS students often encounter striking differences between their experience at HLS and at a foreign law school. These may include pedagogical methods both within the classroom and in terms of how students research, write, and prepare for classes and exams. University facilities such as housing, libraries, athletic facilities and computers may vary in quantity and quality. The administrative processes at a foreign law school may not be the same as those to which HLS students are accustomed.
Students should be prepared to take initiative in orienting themselves, and allow plenty of time to deal with unexpected administrative challenges or delays. Unlike at HLS, the student body can often be composed of both students working toward their first degree (the equivalent of a bachelor’s) and graduate students. At some schools, the majority of students commute rather than living on or near campus. Social and legal norms may be unlike those in the United States or other places where students have lived or studied.
While the contrasts between a semester at HLS and one at a foreign law school can be striking and occasionally difficult to negotiate, study abroad participants consistently report that the experience broadens their horizons in a variety of ways. They recommend a combination of advance preparation and openness to the new experience of a semester abroad.
Travel Advisories and Program Change or Cancellation
Students should be sure to review U.S. State Department country information prior to participation in their semester abroad program. HLS will advise students of any changes in the safety of the country or travel warnings either prior to or during the semester in question.
Should there be any significant changes to a semester abroad program that HLS determines would significantly diminish its quality, or in the unlikely event that the program is cancelled, students will be allowed to modify their plans. If such changes occur in advance of the intended semester abroad, students will be able to remain at HLS without penalty or possibly make alternate study abroad arrangements. If such changes occur during the semester abroad, students should speak with Sara Zucker about possibilities for alternate arrangements.